sweetchaos (sweetchaos) wrote in shadows_rpg, @ 2023-12-12 05:54:00 |
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Entry tags: | #july 2018, knox, knox x max, max |
Who:Knox & Max
Where: Police station holding cell
When: Wednesday evening, July 18th
Going to prison for the first time, Max had understandably been terrified. Prison made a man think of horrible things, all of them violent, some worse than others and he remembered sitting in a holding cell full of people wondering if he was ever going to get out alive. His family had been far away at the time and he wasn't so sure they would make it out to see him before something awful happened to him. This time around was different. Now he dreaded the boredom already seeping in, reminding him just how fucking eternal prison felt. He dreaded the idiots he wouldn't be able to block out, like being in high school all over again except it was a lot shittier and he couldn't go home at the end of the day. He was already fucking bored, just sitting here waiting for the state police to show up and take him away. Shayna Mae hadn't stayed long and he couldn't blame her, this wasn't a place anyone wanted to hang out in for long, nor did he imagine she could.
There were no glitches that he could see in reality inside the station so at least he didn't feel terribly unsafe, just bored, picking at his old band t-shirt and lamenting the bad shape it was in. The colors were all cracked now, he'd obviously washed it wrong a few times, probably shouldn't have put it in the dryer. There were memories attached to the damn thing and he tried to lose himself to them but a holding cell tended to keep a man grounded in the moment, even if there was nobody else there.
Knox waited until after sunset before he left the farm again to fly into town to see Max. He could sneak in at any point in the day, he knew that, but it seemed safer to go when fewer people would be at the police station for the night shift. He just hoped his visit wouldn’t coincide with dinner time or whatever they were going to do for Max’s evening meal, but if he heard someone coming, he could be a bug in an instant.
That was how he got in, morphing from gliding on an owl’s silent wings into fluttering around as a small moth as soon as he reached the front of the station. Knox flew in through the front door when it opened, keeping himself high and between the lights so he was less noticeable. Flying straight as an insect was always hard, but he made his way back to the holding cells without too much trouble. The bars seemed yards apart to him as he fluttered between them. Knox let himself drop lower and lower until he landed in the darkest corner of the holding cell. He really wished there were other animals that humans could communicate with, but he was bound by what was in nature and his sometimes-unfortunately-large human form was locked in. Knox just hoped that Max didn’t yell with surprise.
He morphed silently back into himself, crouched in the corner of the cell. “Max,” he whispered to get his charge’s attention.
Max was startled, it was only natural! He was never going to get used to that. Maybe if he'd seen the moth flutter in but it was fucking quiet. Knox probably would have done better being a bee. Max had learned a long time ago never to swat at small critters. Getting swatted wouldn't actually hurt Knox but it was the thought that counted. In any case, he was fucking startled now, his heart going from resting pace to cardio in half a second and he clutched his chest and huffed a quiet: "Jesus, Knox." The shock and annoyance faded fast and a lazy grin curled his lips, one that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Shoulda known you'd show up," he whispered and it did warm him to have his big brother there. If only he could fly so far as to actually visit him in prison too.
Sometimes Knox forgot that Max couldn’t sense him like the others could. He was as much family as anybody else, but he didn’t have the same magic sensitivities, so of course he didn’t feel Knox come in. The big familiar pulled an apologetic expression and shuffled in a bit closer to where Max was sitting. There were cops only a hallway and a couple of doors away, and he was sure there were security cameras trained on every cell, but he tended to come out as ... blurry, to those types of things. Knox didn’t think he would be noticed unless someone laid their physical eyes on him. “Of course,” he said softly back. “Aidan wanted to come too, but ... Aya’s doors seemed too risky, you know. How are you holding up? They said anything different since Shayna Mae was here?”
"Nope, just waiting for the goddamn state police," Max grumbled and he wasn't sure there were a lot of doors Aya could safely use here so it was probably for the best that Aidan not show up. Which sucked, but hopefully he wasn't going away for more than a couple of days this time. Not that he was feeling particularly hopeful, fixing shit for convicts wasn't anyone's priority and he was starting to remember that more and more just sitting here, waiting. "Wish I could take you with me," he huffed and patted the space next to him for Knox to sit down. "Maybe Aya can find a door in prison for us to meet up sometimes."
Knox slid up onto the bunk Max was sitting on, staying kind of slouched like that would make him harder to see. Sometimes he really wished he had chosen a smaller frame. “Yeah maybe,” he murmured, glancing through the bars at the door that led to all the cops. For a brief second Knox strategized on how he could kill all of them to get Max out of there. He knew that wasn’t the right move, but he couldn’t not think about it. Protecting his people was his sole purpose in life, and Max was going to be put into danger again in just a few hours. There was nothing Knox could do that wouldn’t get him into more trouble, and he hated it. Knox slung his arm around Max’s shoulders to give him a rough hug. “We’re all so pissed about this for you,” he rumbled. “If it wouldn’t destroy your life I would fuck up everybody out there to get you out, you know?”
"I know," Max said and smiled because he did know and imagining Knox rip this place to shreds gave him a much needed rush of pleasure. He leaned in against him, slouching too and butting his head against Knox's shoulder. "I'm just kinda hoping it gets cleared up before they even get here." Or they'd get here and Shayna Mae's protective magic would make them leave again empty handed and confused. Max wasn't sure that would solve anything, they'd probably just come back, but what if they didn't? What if they thought it wasn't worth their time and money to chase down some lowly criminal. It wasn't like he'd even hurt anyone, it was just breaking and entering. Only entering if he was totally fair since he hadn't broken anything. He didn't need to break shit to get into places, manipulating locks and security systems was more his speed. "You'd think they'd have more important shit to deal with."
Was that possible? The cop letting Max go without having to take him out of town would be ideal, and Knox hoped it played out that way. But he’d learned a long time ago that he couldn’t hold his breath for anything working out easily in modern society. Things used to be more simple, but an impossible amount had changed about the world since Knox had been bound to this family. He clunked his head against Max’s and gave him a squeeze. “They do,” he muttered sourly. “They just gotta grab the low hanging fruit, I guess.” Max wasn’t violent or dangerous or had required chasing down, so of course the cops had just swung by to pick him up. It was easy. And it was easy to toss him into jail with the real violent criminals, because the authorities didn’t actually give a shit about ruining normal people’s lives. “We’ll try to fight it from here too, okay? Shayna Mae ... she’ll figure something out. It won’t be long this time.”
They probably needed a lawyer, which sucked since Max hated lawyers. They were smarmy bastards and his last appointed lawyer hadn't done shit for him. Or maybe Shayna Mae could figure something else out, work her magic somehow. Or Aidan could break in somewhere with Aya and change his files. That part was probably fantasy, he didn't want his brother to risk his own ass to get him out but... he kind of did anyway. He just really didn't want to go to prison. "At least you guys can visit more often this time," he mumbled. "Traveling's gotten a lot easier with Aya around." He knew Knox and Shayna Mae didn't really like or trust her but he and Aidan did and he wanted to think she'd help them out for him if not for them.
Shayna Mae would have to take care of a lawyer if they were getting one on Max’s behalf -- it was always frustrating that Knox couldn’t help with things like that. He technically didn’t exist, and being a human that could get things done required so many numbers he couldn’t get. It was all so stupid. “Yeah,” Knox agreed. He didn’t trust Aya as far as he could throw her, but if she was willing to actually help, he would take it for Max’s sake. She hadn’t really been actively causing them trouble, and she seemed pretty bonded to Aidan, so maybe she would door-port them in close so they could visit Max now and then, it wasn’t much to ask. “We’ll come see you as much as we can, bring you anything you need ... and we’ll try to make sure it’s not for long. We all love you.” Knox gave him an affectionate jostle. “You’re gonna be okay.”
Max had a lot of issues, but he'd always known he was loved. It could feel smothering at times and right now it was a bit heartbreaking. If nobody loved him, him going to prison wouldn't hurt anyone but his whole family was going to be worried all over again and he hated having that on his conscience. "Fuck, dad's gonna fall apart," he groaned and there were things he was keeping from his siblings while he tried to keep their dad together, but if he was gone too long he might just have to tell them so someone else could take on the mantle. "He's not good, you know, he's been... Can you just check up on him, look after him while I'm away?"
He wasn’t being specific, but he didn’t really need to be. Knox was attuned to Patrick just like he was to the current generation. He knew the patriarch was on the decline, but it wasn’t Knox’s place to try to stop it. He protected them from outside threats, they were all free to destroy themselves. It broke his heart to watch it happen, but it wouldn’t be the first time he’d borne witness. “I know, of course,” Knox murmured, squeezing Max again. “We’ll take care of him.” He would relay the message and the concerns to Shayna Mae, that was the best thing Knox could do for him. She was in charge of the family now, and he knew she would do everything she could for her dad. “We’ll get you back soon, one way or another, I swear it, Max.”
Aidan had been sick for a year trying to perfect booze that wasn't as damaging as the normal stuff and everyone knew that was for Patrick's sake, but Max hadn't had the heart to tell him he saw more and more store bought bottles in Patrick's room. Sometimes he thought their dad was willingly destroying himself, trying to rush the inevitable without doing anything too drastic. It wasn't Max's responsibility to keep him alive, but he still took it on, trying to fill some void in his father's soul with his presence. That shit was hard to do from prison. "I fucking hope so," he said and he hated how defeated he sounded. He was usually better at putting on a quick smile and pretending everything was A-okay but this year really had kicked the shit out of him already and he was so damn tired. "I don't even know how much time I owe them or whatever," he muttered. "Could be a year, could be two. I really wouldn't put it past them to be petty even if it was just a month, you know."
Knox hated to see him so down too. He knew Max covered up a lot of his vulnerabilities with wry humor, but he was sensitive underneath all of it. And a really good guy, in spite of the bad decisions he’d made in his life. All humans did that, he’d seen enough of them to know. “It won’t be a year,” Knox rumbled quietly, shaking his head a bit. “Even if we gotta hide you for a while.” He knew they could do the hiding, for sure. Max’s life might never be normal again, but when had it ever really been? Knox glanced warily at the door leading out of the cells, briefly fantasizing again about morphing into a bear in that other room and leaving it a bloody mess. “Can I do anything for you?” he asked, bringing himself back to the present moment. He couldn’t help Max that way, but he was open to suggestions.
"Just stay for a bit?" Max asked because he knew there wasn't anything Knox could do and even asking him to smuggle in booze or something wasn't going to be helpful. He knew well enough that getting black out drunk would only make everything harder with the cops - and Knox probably wouldn't do it anyway. "Even if you gotta be a moth to do it, I just like having you around." They didn't need to talk, it was just good to not be alone while he waited and it was starting to look more and more like the damn state police were gonna let him sleep in that cell before they got their asses over here to pick him up.
Sneaking himself in was easy, bringing an object in as a tiny animal was far more difficult, so Knox was glad Max didn’t ask for anything material. That would necessitate asking Aya for help, and who wanted to do that? Not Knox, even if she would probably do it easily for Max. “I’m here,” he murmured, touched by the request. “As me, ‘til somebody opens that door. But I’m not gonna leave you until they move you.” Unless there was a witness, he would keep Max company in human form, then hang around as something small and unnoticeable until the authorities came to take him out of Knox’s range. He was limited in how far away he could get from the O’Reilly land, otherwise it would’ve been incredibly tempting to ride along with Max as a mouse in his pocket or something. Knox got a little ache in his heart -- he just wanted to keep his people safe, they had to find a solution to this as quickly as possible.
Max wouldn't want Knox to come with him all the way. The processing procedures were pretty dehumanizing and easier to get through if nobody he knew was around, but he liked having him here for the duration of the wait. It kept his brain from spinning into bad directions and reminded him that no matter what happened, he was loved. It also helped that Knox carried magic with him and just having him around made Max feel more protected so he wasn't constantly waiting for some glitch to show up while he was there. He could relax and just be sad instead of sad and anxious. He didn't know for sure that Knox could keep reality in check but he brought some of the peace of the homestead with him and it was worth believing in. "The cop who arrested me is the same chick who arrested me last time," he said with a little snort. "And we had a one night stand once. Not awkward at all."
Knox didn’t know how much influence he had over Max’s new talent either, but it was good to be with him for the moment. He didn’t want any of his family to feel alone in times of trouble. He hadn’t been bound just for protection, it was companionship too, and if he could keep Max company and make him feel better for a while before he faced down something awful all over again, he would stay as long as he could. Knox made a genuinely amused sound and bumped shoulders with Max, grinning. “And you couldn’t seduce your way outta this? Must not’ve impressed her much,” he teased gently. Knox knew that wasn’t how it worked, but it was funny anyway. Max seemed to do all right for himself, when he was actually out in the world. “Was she nice about it, at least? I can’t believe they would bother with all this if it’s just paperwork ...”
Max snorted at the jab and nodded defeatedly in that he probably sucked in bed or something. "She was nice about it, yeah," he said and he would give Bailey that. "She let me keep my phone until we got to the station, didn't give me a hard time. Hell, she probably would have 'come back later' if there wasn't a damn camera in her car." He didn't know that but she had hinted at it whether she meant it or not and it was nice to believe it. At the very least she hadn't enjoyed arresting him again. "They've all been treating me just fine, it's not the local cops that are giving me a hard time. They're just doing their jobs." He glanced up at Knox with a faint grin. "So don't go on some mad journey of vengeance for me, brother."
He didn't feel guilty at all for fantasizing about bear-murdering all of the cops in the building, even if they were just doing their jobs. Knox would do anything for his family, and that meant anything. It also meant staying civilized when the situation called for it, so as not to bring calamity down on the family. Knox had already lived through townspeople showing up with torches and nooses in the night. The world was a little different now, but not much. So he wouldn't tempt fate. "You got it," he rumbled, offering a lopsided smile. "No bloody rampages unless you give the word.” He was sure that word wouldn't come -- not from Max anyway. Aidan had been beside himself with rage. "No promises about your other brother though ... Aidan's very upset about all this. We all are.”
For a brief second Max felt a surge of power, like some general with massive armies at his back. It was laughable really, he had no power over anything in his life but the people who loved him? They were a whole different story. He didn't often feel like he deserved the devotion they were willing to give him but he would never show them that because he loved them too. "I'll definitely call you if I need someone shanked in prison," he joked and he wondered if Knox could spend time in there without anyone really noticing him. He'd never fully understood how he went by undetected to everyone but family at times, if it'd be like having a guardian spirit that people were only vaguely aware of. Not that anyone ever bothered him in prison, he was on good terms with most people and Shayna Mae's magic shielded him from the rest. "Tell Aidan I was in a great mood, not worried at all, not sulky at all, okay?" He gave Knox a wan smile. "Tell him... I don't do shit but stay in my room and read these days anyway so I'll be fine."
There were a lot of things about his existence that Knox couldn't explain either, things that had just worked for so long, he didn't question them. He was as he was, and he'd been made to be that way. He hated that Max was going to be out of his reach -- he could make short trips away from the land, but staying anywhere else long term was a no-go. Knox belonged to the homestead as much as the living family. He gave a small smile in return. "I'll tell him," he agreed. "This is easy shit for you, and you'll be back before he knows it.” He hoped Max believed that too, he couldn't imagine facing down more years behind bars after everything he'd been through. "I'll make sure he doesn't rampage either.”
"Good luck with that," Max said with a soft snort. "That kid's a punk." And he already fucking missed him, how corny was that? "Tell him if he doesn't visit me with some magic booze now that he has his own travel agent? I'll be pissed." Maybe if he could make Aidan laugh he'd make him a little less furious, but he doubted it and that fact made him feel kind of bad for feeling good. He should want his family to be happy but the fact they were angry and upset for him? It made him feel worth something. "Thanks, Knox," he added quietly and leaned against him again, wondering what that looked like on the security camera - if it looked like anything at all. He'd seen the weird static thing that sometimes happened with Knox and other people in photos and videos, it was kind of cool and he kind of wished he could add that effect to himself at will.
The loving insult made Knox chuckle, and he gave Max’s shoulders a squeeze as he leaned in closer. “You got it, brother,” he murmured to both things. Aidan might laugh, but he would probably still be angry, until this whole mess was resolved. Knox just hoped it happened quickly, for all of their sakes. Especially Max’s. He could tell when his charges were just putting up a good front of being okay, and Max was probably the best at it. It broke Knox’s heart a little and made him wish even harder that he could go too to keep him company and protect him, but he knew that was impossible. He would still visit though, try to accompany Aidan and Aya through her magical doors to go see him and bring him a little bit of home. The O’Reillys had their problems just like any other family, but they were loyal to the end. “You’re gonna be okay,” he added softly. “And we all love you to death.”
"I know," Max whispered. It wasn't a flippant, wise guy answer, he did know and he loved them all to death as well. There'd been a time where he'd wanted to get away from them, carve his own path and not constantly feel like the weak link in the chain - being the only non-magic user and all. Now he just wanted to stay at the house for fucking ever, one day ending up being the weird hermit uncle who never went anywhere. God he hoped his siblings had kids, a big family to fill up that house again. Typical that he felt this way now when he was being forced to leave - again. He settled into silence, his mind too busy and too quiet at the same time for him to think of anything to say and that was okay. Maybe Knox would fill the silence with a memory or a story. Max loved it when he did that, he had so much history to draw on and while the O'Reillys of the past weren't Max's blood relatives, they still felt like family to him thanks to Patrick so it was nice to hear about them and the woods from Knox's point of view.